


Overflowing

by rjnau



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, F/F, Sadness, Underage Drinking, White Rose - Freeform, angst with less angsty ending, slight bit of fluff at the end, tiny lil bit of bumbleby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21764989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rjnau/pseuds/rjnau
Summary: After the events of the night, Ruby felt herself becoming more overwhelmed than ever before, as if all of her past worries were now at their peak. In her panic, Ruby turns to alcohol. Weiss, being the good partner she is, finds the poor girl and attempts to comfort her and fix the situation.This is set after the events of Volume 7, Chapter 6, so spoilers for the people who have not watched it!Also big thanks to my friend Silverr for helping me out with the fic  : )
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 6
Kudos: 129





	Overflowing

Penny’s shoes lit up with green as she shot up into the air and soared across the night sky and out of view from Ruby, Marrow, Ren and Nora. The air of Mantle became colder, as if it too sensed the horror of the situation that had unfolded prior. The screams of the people in the party echoed through the streets, and soon the screams of grimm did the same. 

Lights of red flashed throughout the city streets in unison with the ringing alarm, the people of mantle being filled with fear and attracting manticore grimm.

Ruby, Marrow, Ren and Nora fought off all the manticores they could, with the Ace-Ops already being on duty and joining the fight in the Mantle streets. It was at least an hour of screams, sword slashing, gun fires and fading grimm, until finally the manticore numbers had lessened significantly enough for the alarms to stop blaring through the chilly air. 

Clover had send out messages to Qrow and the rest of Ruby’s friends, who were all in Atlas. He had offered for Ren, Nora and Ruby to come back to Atlas with him while the rest of the Ace-Ops stayed guard around the borders of Mantle. 

“As long as the rest of the Ace-Ops are still here,” Nora groaned, “I’m perfectly fine with getting some rest.”

“Um, actually, Clover,” Clover turned to face Ruby who had spoken out on a whim, “I think I’m gonna go, um, try and find Penny.” Clover nodded and left with Ren and Nora. 

Ruby slung Crescent Rose on her hip as she sighed. Her mind had been bubbling with anxieties, worries, and pent up thoughts ever since the Fall of Beacon, but until an hour ago she had been able to keep it all at bay. Now, however, Ruby felt as if her thoughts weren’t only in her mind, but coursing throughout her entire body, causing her chest to ache, her stomach to twist and turn and her throat to go hoarse. 

All of this was just okay for Ruby to keep under control, that was until she began her search for Penny. As Ruby wondered dark streets and alleyways she could feel her heart pick up its beating pace tenfold, and her lungs seemed to be working overtime as her breaths for air were coming in shorter and shorter. 

Why did Penny have to run? Ruby hated her loved ones running away when they could just ask for help instead. What if Penny left forever? What if all of her friends weren’t safe in Atlas, but possibly injured in another event Tyrian went off to right after Robyn’s election?

A tear slowly rolled down Ruby’s cheek, but more was to come. Ruby felt her throat almost shrink in on itself, her stomach wrap itself inside out and her heart began to throb with anguished pain. She lifted her hand to her chest and clenched her corset in an attempt to make all of the emotion and pain in her body just pause for a couple of minutes at least, but it didn’t do a thing. More tears made their way to Ruby’s cheeks as the young huntress miserably roamed the streets of Mantle, the shattered moon illuminating the city. 

All of her thoughts about her team, her friends, Jacques Schnee, grimm, murder, Atlas and even her mother came pouring out of her, expressed through the feelings of aching in her body and the choking in her throat. She felt embarrassed to be crying in the middle of an abandoned street, but it was just that. Abandoned. No one was there to see her express her hurt; no one was there to help her-

The smash of glass woke Ruby from her flurry of thoughts. She looked up and around at the lined doors of the streets and found a sign hanging right in front of her. In a scratchy font it read ‘Cedar’s Pub’.

Ruby wiped her eyes and cheeks. Her brain brought forward memories of her uncle being at pubs often, drinking alone. She thought of how he drank to stop his aching, to get rid of his hurt and his own choking throat. On any other day prior, Ruby would’ve steered well away from any sort of pub, but now with this pain she felt, the pain that she’d do anything to get rid of…

The wooden door slammed shut behind Ruby as she entered Cedar’s Pub. She shuddered at the look of the place. There were no lights on, just a candle or two at the bar countertop, leaving the corners and edges of the room filled with tables to be dark and hollow. The entire place was made of wood; wooden floorboards, wooden tables and chairs, and a polished wooden wall. There was no one in the pub at all except for a stubby middle-aged man in a suit who was kneeling over on the floor, cleaning up shards of glass. 

Ruby approached the man and bent over to help him with the smashed glass bottle. He glanced up at Ruby and sighed. After the man held all of the glass in a small dustpan, he moved behind the bar and motioned for Ruby to take a seat in front of him. He had short brown hair lined with a bit of grey here and there, and sported a bushy moustache that did not look groomed at all. He had bags under his eyes and (Ruby only now noticed) that his suit was torn.

“Thanks, Miss.” His voice was deep and would’ve been intimidating had it not been coming from a man who looked as if he was in constant distress. “You can take what you want, tonight. I’m heading out now anyway.”

“Heading out?” Ruby asked, wringing her hands together as she could almost hear her mind screaming at her, begging her to end the infinite amount of dreadful memories and thoughts that hollowed out her chest.

The man, who Ruby assumed was named Cedar due to the name of the pub itself, heaved a large sigh. “Yep. I’ve had enough of this place for sure.” 

Cedar grabbed a couple of bottles from behind him and placed them down on the bench area in front of Ruby, who leant back a bit. There were about five bottles, all either a deep shade of green or brown, with strange cursive writing on all of them. 

“Most expensive bottles of wine I’ve ever owned.” Cedar huffed while emptying the money from the cashier into his own pockets. “Don’t need them anymore. You have ‘em.”

Ruby didn’t tear her eyes away from the bottles. They all looked bland and boring, but reminded Ruby a bit of Weiss; with how fancy and expensive they looked. 

Weiss. How would she be feeling about her father winning the election? Jacques Schnee would have even more power over everyone now, including Weiss. What if he took Weiss away again? Ruby couldn’t handle that. She couldn’t watch Weiss be taken away again. 

Ruby felt her chest hollow and throb again, as well as a sharp lump form in her throat. She finally looked up from the bottles to thank Cedar, but he was already gone, the door of the pub slamming shut just as it did when Ruby had entered.

She turned on her stool to face the bottles of wine placed in front of her and felt her heart beat significantly faster. Should she really do this? She could just go back to her Atlas dorm and get some rest…

But the doubts were instantly replaced by thoughts of determination. There was no turning back, this would be good, it would help with her aching.

Ruby popped open one of the bottles.

_ This will help you.  _ Ruby’s mind told her.

She lifted the brownish bottle to her her lips.

_ It won’t be bad. _

She took a long swig of the sweet alcohol.

_ This will make it go away. _

And after only a short amount of time, the whole bottle had been emptied completely. Ruby didn’t actually know if she was supposed to drink it straight from the bottle, but she felt her vision sway and fuzz as she looked at the other bottles remaining in front of her. 

But her thoughts were still swelling in her mind. Why weren’t they gone yet? They were supposed to go away. Ruby was supposed to be okay, she was supposed to be the team leader who knew exactly what to do. But she wasn’t okay and she didn’t know what to do anymore.

How was she supposed to know everything? She’s a sixteen year old girl, she can’t be expected to be able to lead a team of girls in the situations they have to go through. Salem isn’t going to wait around for Ruby to think of a plan for her team, for the rest of her friends that also tagged along. She can’t handle having to make all of the decisions, to have to pick and choose who to trust, to lie to certain people and be openly honest to others.

It was confusing for Ruby. Confusing and overwhelming. All of her friends from Patch were probably stressing over what boys would be interested in them or how their grades are in school, but Ruby was chained down by the responsibility of saving the entire world from an insane woman with only bloodshed on her mind. 

The empty bottle of wine slipped from Ruby’s hand and shattered on the wooden floor. Ruby’s arms tensed with a mixture of anger and melancholy. Hot tears rolled down her face and she squeezed her eyes shut. Why couldn’t all of her emotions just go away? Why can’t it all just go away? It was so unfair. 

Another bottle was now consumed and empty. To Ruby’s satisfaction, the alcohol began to outweigh the bad thoughts and emotions. Instead she felt a warm. The ache in her chest was replaced with warm fuzziness. Her head felt heavy and light at the same time. She almost felt like laughing. Instead, a giddy smile crawled onto her face and she dropped her head into her arms on the bench in front of her. It was going to all go away, and that made Ruby feel nice and comfy.

Weiss was wringing her hands together nervously as Blake and Yang finally entered team RWBY’s dorm room. The two of them had grim expressions on their faces and made uneasy eye contact with Weiss. Weiss sighed loudly. Blake and Yang were okay, at least. 

“Ruby isn’t here?” Yang asked, worry laced in her voice. 

Weiss shook her head, “She went to look for Penny but hasn’t come back yet.”

Weiss watched as Blake grabbed Yang’s hand and squeezed it. The two of them looked at each other solemnly. Weiss sighed again. She had a bad feeling about Ruby. She would’ve contacted one of her teammates, or she would’ve been back by now. Weiss couldn’t stop her rising anxiety.

“Weiss, are you okay?” Weiss looked at Blake, who was now sitting in the chair near the desk in the corner. Yang was standing next to her.

“I’m… just worried about Ruby.” Weiss still wasn’t used to expressing her emotions, even to her teammates, But she was admittedly getting better over time.

“Yeah, so am I.” Blake averted her eyes from Weiss’ gaze.

“But she’ll be okay. She’s tough.” Yang patted Blake on her back in a comforting manner and gave Weiss an empathetic smile. But this didn’t stop Weiss from worrying about her partner.

Yang was right, of course. Ruby was tough, tougher than Weiss even, but she was younger and had seen the massacre that night. Ruby had been there, she’d seen the bodies and witnessed Penny being accused of it all. She must feel terrible. 

Weiss never did act too nosy when it came to Ruby and her more personal things, but Ruby was the only one that Weiss could wholeheartedly be herself around. She was the only person in all of Remnant that Weiss could say anything to, and she wouldn’t judge. Weiss tried to return the favour, but found that Ruby was somehow even more closed off than herself when it came to discussing bigger things. 

Ruby did tell Weiss when she was upset, or angry, or anxious or sad, but she never really told Weiss about long-lasting thoughts or things that really mattered to her. Ruby would mostly talk about in-the-moment sort of things, such as that one time Zwei had gone on a tour down the Beacon dorms hallways and Ruby was worried sick.

Weiss pulled herself out of her memories, and acting out of pure gut instinct, stood up and exited the dorm room. Yang and Blake didn’t ask where she was going, they only watched the ex-heiress leave in a hurry.

Where could Ruby be? The one question was echoing inside of Weiss’ mind similar to the way the blaring alarms echoed throughout Mantle around two hours ago. Of course, she is somewhere in Mantle, but maybe she would return to the Atlas dorms while Weiss was out looking for her?

Weiss pulled out her scroll and sent a text to Blake and Yang telling them to let her know if Ruby shows up. As soon as the message sent, Weiss began her speedy journey to Mantle. Instead of taking an airship or any other means of transport to Mantle, Weis found it far more efficient to use her glyphs as a means of getting there in a hurry. 

Weiss landed in the middle of an empty street where the only lights were the street lamps. Weiss would be lying if she had told herself she wasn’t a bit scared of the uneasy suspicion the streets of Mantle showed. Even during the day when the city goers walked near them, Weiss found herself walking a lot closer to Ruby than she meant to. 

Weiss scanned the signposts and doors lined along the sidewalk. They were shops and grocery stores, but they definitely did not look the part, at least to Weiss’ eye. 

Now where to go from here? How is Weiss supposed to find her partner in a city where all the streets and allies look just as abandoned and wrecked as the other? As Weiss’ mind brainstormed ideas to find Ruby, she couldn’t help but feel a small twang of guilt wriggle its way into her chest. She had been in Atlas almost her whole life and she hadn’t paid one single bit of attention to the dying streets of Mantle. It was disgraceful.

The ex-heiress took out her scroll once again and looked up Ruby’s contact. As a part of the new upgraded scrolls, each member of a team could find the location of their teammates through a newly developed program. But as Weiss tried to see Ruby’s scrolls location, she noticed that it’s tracking had been turned off, meaning Weiss could only see that Yang and Blake were still in Atlas, but no Ruby. 

Next, Weiss tried simply calling the scythe-wielder, but to no avail. Ruby either didn’t have her scroll on her, or she had turned it off in hopes that it wouldn’t distract her. Or Ruby had intentionally ignored her call. 

This wasn’t right, Ruby not being in contact. The leader was the one of the four girls to always be very intent on making sure all of them remained in contact at all times ever since they had all been separated after beacon. And now Ruby was the one that wasn’t in contact. It made Weiss feel a twisted apprehensive feeling as she put away her scroll. 

What was she going to do now? Well, she can’t just look for Ruby by herself, why didn’t she ask Yang or Blake for help? Weiss walked over to the sidewalk and leant against a withered looking brick wall. She folded her arms as she looked around at the street lamps and the signs hanging from posts on the other side of the road. 

The signs were all small businesses that didn’t seem to be very popular. ‘Lavender Tattoo Parlor’, which had a window which was smashed with boards built over it, ‘Gears & Parts: Engineering’ had no windows at all, but the door had been vandalised by spray paint, and there was also ‘Shining Knight’s Dollar Store’, a small shop with small, smashed windows to match.

Knight. The word clicked in Weiss’ mind like a final puzzle piece being put in place. 

Without wasting anymore time, Weiss equipped Myrtenaster and summoned Arma Gigas, her knight in other words. Arma Gigas had a large form, which was much larger than Weiss, and a smaller form that Weiss also found handy in certain situations. The small, glowing white knight was standing in front of Weiss, kneeling as if waiting for Weiss’ commands. 

“We need to find Ruby.” Weiss said to Arma Gigas, fully aware that he was only a summoning of her own semblance, but that didn’t stop her from talking to him. 

The knight stood up and ran down the street, looking for the brunette reaper. Although Arma Gigas and Weiss were now completely separated, she knew where he was, and she could feel a part of her mind with him as he looked around for her partner. 

Weiss began walking around the streets of Mantle to try and find any shops or restaurants that were open after the massacre. She didn’t expect to see many with their lights on, but she did find a couple every now and then. But as Weiss would enter the rustic places, she could not find Ruby anywhere. 

Weiss even tried exploring some cut off streets and darker alleyways, thinking it possible that Ruby could maybe had found Penny there like she did when the two first hung out. But Weiss found herself with no success.

The white-haired girl checked her scroll. It had been almost an entire hour and she was beginning to feel the weighing pressure of exhaustion and fatigue threatening to overtake her. She was sleep deprived already, but now with still no way of finding Ruby, she didn’t know what to do. 

If Ruby had gone back to the Atlas dorms, Blake or Yang or someone would’ve contacted her, so she wasn’t there, then. For all Weiss knew, Ruby could be roaming around in Atlas, or hiding somewhere else here in Mantle. She could even be dead and Weiss would have no idea until she or someone found her. 

The thought caused a shudder to shoot down Weiss’ spine. She needed to find Ruby, she was not going to give in to her tiredness. She promised to be the best teammate she could be, and this was something that a good teammate- no, a good friend would do.  **Eiss**

Weiss straightened her fringe on her face and headed towards the next street to search. This was a long process, but every street needed to be searched for Ruby to be found. Even if it caused a few extra stares in her direction (being the ex-heiress of the SDC and being the daughter of the newly elected Jacques Schnee). 

Just as Weiss was about to enter a small coffee store with the sign lights still glowing faintly, she felt her spirits rise all of a sudden. It took her a few seconds before she realised what had happened; Arma Gigas had found Ruby.

Weiss closed her eyes and focused on the glowing knights location. Once she could absolutely be sure of where he was, Weiss began running. She didn’t care that she was wearing heeled wedges, or wearing a dress for that matter, Weiss felt a certain urgency in getting to Ruby. 

After a good five to ten minutes of running, Weiss found herself standing in front of a glowing yellow sign hanging over a wooden door. The words on the sign read ‘Cedar’s Pub’ in scratchy black writing. Weiss instantly felt nauseous after processing the sign. Without even acknowledging Arma Gigas, she barged open the crooked wooden door and entered the pub. 

Arma Gigas vanished as Weiss saw Ruby. But Ruby wasn’t talking to Penny, or playing on her scroll, or having a late night meal, like Weiss might have expected. Instead, the girl had her head on the bench in front of her, one hand holding a bottle of wine, the other tapping a tune on the wooden bench. 

“Oh, Ruby…” Weiss muttered. She couldn’t find it in her to yell and scold Ruby, when she really wanted to right now. Weiss found it a struggle to will herself to move closer to the girl. 

Weiss slowly approached Ruby, worried that if she jumped into the girls line of sight she’d be embarrassed or startled. She could even get angry, like her father did whenever he drank after an argument with her mother. 

Weiss tapped Ruby on the shoulder. “Ruby?”

The silver-eyed girl lifted her head up faster than Weiss could see, her orbs widening at the sight of Weiss looking at her with utmost concern and worry. Weiss could smell the alcohol on Ruby’s breath before she even said anything. 

It took Ruby a minute or two to actually recognise the white and blue figure in front of her as Weiss, her partner. Ruby could barely even think straight; she just felt like laughing because her plan had worked. She couldn’t even remember what she had been worried about, but she felt great and warm now, like she was wrapped in the most fluffiest blanket in the world. 

“Weissssss!” Ruby chuckled and then began coughing into her hand. Once she had finished her small coughing fit, she held up the wine bottle in her right hand as if to raise a toast. “You want some? It’s goooooood.”

Weiss couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her seventeen year old partner, the one person who was always intent on keeping away from alcohol, was drunk out of her mind. Weiss could feel the lump growing in her throat as her eyes burned with hot tears threatening to fall down her face. 

Weiss lowered Ruby’s hand and took the bottle off of her, placing it on the other side of the bench. Ruby didn’t seem too happy about this, because she whined and reached for the bottle. “Noooo, Weiss don’t. It helpssss…”

Weiss turned away from Ruby and squeezed her eyes shut, willing for her tears to not escape, to just stay hidden. She needed to take care of Ruby, not cry and make a fool of herself.

“Ruby, you need to come with me.” Weiss grabbed onto Ruby’s arm and tried to get her to stand up off of the stool. Ruby pulled her arm away from Weiss but her stool slipped out from underneath her and she fell to the hard floor.

Weiss yelped and bent down to help Ruby up again, but all Ruby was doing was clutching onto her corset and smiling as if she had no care in the world. Weiss pulled on Ruby’s arm gently, trying to get her to at least try to sit up and look after herself.

“Stop it, Weiss, I want to stay.” Ruby slurred, swiping weakly at Weiss’ arms trying to lift her off of the wooden floor. 

“No, Ruby, get up now.” Weiss huffed, grabbed hold of Ruby’s shoulders and lifting her up into a sitting position. Weiss felt her patience wearing thin as Ruby kept on pushing her away. Weiss was sick of being pushed away, sick of pushing others away.

Ruby shoved Weiss on the stomach and she fell over onto her backside. “I said stop it, Weiss! I want to stay like this it is-... it’s warm.” Ruby’s eyes closed for a couple of seconds and she looked as if she was in deep thought. Then she opened her eyes and stared directly into Weiss’ own. 

That seemed to be the last straw for Weiss. Ruby did this for a reason, and she knew how it felt and she knew what she was doing; she was refusing to help herself. Why couldn’t Ruby see what this did to people? Why couldn’t Ruby see that her own uncle had already gotten over this issue? She didn’t need to make things more complicated by involving herself. 

Weiss stood up and shook her head in disbelief, her anger finally snapping and coming ou from its shell.

“Ruby Rose! Shut up and get off of the floor now!” Weiss stomped her foot on the ground and clenched her hands into fists. She hated seeing Ruby like this and just wished Ruby was more responsible. She wished Ruby spoke to her instead of running off and damaging her own health. Ruby was being stupid and Weiss hated it. 

“I said get up, Ruby!” Weiss yelled down at the girl sitting cluelessly on the floor. The fact that she still wasn’t moving a muscle angered Weiss even more. 

Weiss was done with people in her life doing this to themselves, doing this to  _ her _ . The smell, the behaviour, the slurred speech, the hidden feelings that get thrown out into the open air; Weiss was absolutely done with it all. 

But as fast as Ruby had fallen to the floor, she was up on her feet again. Weiss would’ve been relieved if Ruby didn’t have the dark look in her eyes. 

“No!” Ruby yelled louder than Weiss had done before. Weiss flinched and stepped away from Ruby as the brunette began slipping deeper into the alcohols influence. 

“Stop telling me what to do! I like this! I want this!” Ruby motioned to the smashed bottle on the floor and the empty bottle sitting on the bench. There was another full bottle next to the empty one on the bench, and the one Weiss had taken off of her was placed about a metre away from those on the other side of the bench, half empied. 

Weiss opened her mouth to say something back to Ruby but was interrupted by the girl, “It all went away and you ruined it! You’ve ruined it, Weiss!” 

Weiss felt a hot wetness cover her cheeks and her throat began to sting. Ruby had never yelled at Weiss and she only realised now how heartbreaking it could be. Weiss couldn’t help but get flashes of memories of her mother, who would scream and yell at her father in this very same manour when she, too, had had too much too drink. It was happening again. 

A smash caused Weiss to involuntarily sob. Ruby had thrown the empty bottle off of the bench and it had smashed on the floor to Weiss’ left. Ruby had her hands on either side of her head, her eyes squeezed shut.

“It all went away but now you’ve made it come back! YOU’VE MADE IT COME BACK!” Ruby had tears of her own falling down her face and dripping onto the floor. Weiss instantly felt her chest wrench, like it was being pulled out of her body. Her heart was sore and her throat stung.

Ruby wasn’t the problem, it was Weiss. Weiss should be there for Ruby, not yelling at her. She should be comforting her, not reprimanding her. Weiss was the reason for this in the first place, she hadn’t comforted her partner when she needed it. Ruby didn’t need to express emotions to not be okay inside. Weiss was so oblivious, so naive. 

Before Weiss could second-guess herself, she had her arms wrapped around Ruby in a tight embrace. The scythe-wielder opened her eyes and dropped her hands from her head, her face expression blank. Ruby didn’t feel fuzzy and comfy anymore, she felt uncomfortably hot, sweaty even. She had her thoughts twist and turn into dark ones, sad ones, that Ruby had initially been happy were gone. But now they were back, along with a hotness that flowed through her body. 

“I’m so sorry, Ruby, please don’t get angry.” Weiss spoke softly into Ruby’s shoulder, with the younger girl being slightly taller than her even with her heels on. Ruby sniffed gently but didn’t move otherwise.

“We can go through whatever you’re going through together.” Weiss was speaking softer than before, slightly embarrassed with the words she was saying as they had never come out of her mouth before. Weiss had never really comforted someone before, and she didn’t really know how, but she needed to try for Ruby. 

It didn’t take long before Ruby’s giddy smile returned and her arms were tightly wrapped around the ex-heiress in return. Ruby felt herself grow fuzzy and comfy again as her mind began to fog up just as quickly as her anger had overtaken her. Ruby barely knew why she was angry a minute ago, she just knew that she had felt like yelling and throwing things. 

“Gee, thanks, Weiss.” Ruby spoke a little louder than she should have, but Weiss didn’t care. She needed to be here for Ruby no matter what. But that didn’t stop Weiss’ heart from hurting, it didn’t stop her tears falling from her eyes. It didn’t stop Weiss’ painful memories of her drunk parents. But she could talk to Ruby later, when she was okay. 

Weiss pulled away from the hug and pulled out her scroll. She knew who to call to help her out right now. With Ruby almost completely forgetting about almost attacking Weiss with a glass bottle, she became harmless once more. She was staring at her hands with great curiosity and yawning loudly. 

It didn’t take long before Yang walked into the door of the pub sporting a distressed expression on her face. When she saw Weiss wrestling another bottle of wine off of Ruby, she sighed greatly. When Weiss had called and told her Ruby was drunk in a rundown pub, she didn’t know if she should believe her or ask if she’d received a blow to the head. 

And clearly now, Yang was needed in this predicament. Yang trudged over to the squabbling partners. Weiss, upon seeing Yang, let out a sigh of relief. 

“Yang, finally.” Weiss tapped Ruby on the shoulder and proceeded to point to the blonde woman. “Yang is here, now.”

Yang didn’t say her observation out loud, but she noticed the tear stains on both Weiss and Ruby’s cheeks (easier to see on Weiss since she usually liked to wear a touch of makeup). Ruby looked up at Yang and smiled a toothy smile.

“Why, hello there, older… older sister of mine.” Ruby garbled as she swayed slightly on her stool. 

Yang smiled softly as she rested a hand on Ruby’s shoulder to balance the girl. “Hey there, sis.”

“She’s been better but keeps wanting to have, uh, more.” Weiss spoke up, a hand rubbing her other arm nervously, then continued in a quieter volume, “Please, help me get her to Atlas, she needs rest.”

“Don’t worry,” Yang held her hands on her hips and looked over to her younger sister, “She’ll be safe and sound in no time.”

Yang watched from a short distance as Weiss and Blake attempted to get Ruby into Weiss’ bed without any fighting. Ruby had been quite adamant to stay at the pub, to stay ‘where it’s happy’, according to the younger girl. This did make it quite hard for Yang and Weiss to get her out, but eventually Ruby complied to being led to the teams dorm room and put to bed. 

Yang had her arms folded across her chest and a solemn look about her. She hadn’t really felt like talking much the whole time she’d been helping Weiss with Ruby; if anything, she just felt like shutting everything away and, well, hiding. But as soon as the feeling came to her, so did guilt. Yang couldn’t just abandon the rest of her team to look after her own sister.

Before Yang could realise, Ruby was lying in Weiss' bed with Weiss talking to her. Blake had made her way over to Yang, worry planted on her face. Yang unfolded her arms and forced a small smile.

“Oh, please, Yang,” Blake rolled her eyes before wrapping her arms around Yang and pulling her in for a warm hug, “I know this is troubling for you.”

Yang let a real smile come to her face as she returned the hug from the faunus. “Thanks, Blake.” 

“It’s alright. She’ll be okay in the morning, but…” Blake pulled away from the taller girl and looked her in the eyes, “I think this is something that the two of them should figure out tomorrow.” 

Both Yang and Blake looked onwards at Weiss sitting on the edge of her bunk, speaking softly and tucking Ruby's blankets over her shoulders. Yang felt a comforting feeling at seeing this, relieved with the knowledge that Ruby would be okay.

“Let’s go get some water and painkillers for when Ruby wakes up.” Yang smiled as she saw Blake nod, the two of them exiting the room and leaving Weiss to prepare Ruby to sleep. 

Ruby slowly sat up in her bed, her hand automatically rubbing the side of her temple. She winced as she felt pain erupt throughout her skull as if something was rattling inside of it. Why was her head so sore? And why was she so thirsty? She felt as if her body had been wrung dry of any liquids.

Ruby squinted as she looked around the dorm room. No one else was there and the lights were off. What time was it? Did she sleep in really late without anyone bothering to wake her up? And why was she in Weiss' bed instead of her own? 

Ruby pulled back her sheets and slipped out of the bed. It wasn’t long before she felt an immense wave of dizziness wash over her, resulting in her losing her balance for a couple of seconds and falling to her knees. Ruby spent a couple seconds on her hands and knees before standing up again, then rushing to the dorm bathroom with the urgency to throw up. 

When Ruby had cleaned off her face and stumbled out of the bathroom with the intention to go back to bed, she heard the dorm room click open. Weiss walked into the room holding a tray with two pieces of toast and some sliced apple pieces on it. She kicked the door closed with her foot, forgetting that the sound would be near fatal to Ruby's head.

"Oww, Weiss don't slam the door…" Ruby held another hand to her head and painstakingly rubbed it, attempting to soothe her sore skull. 

Weiss saw Ruby standing outside the bathroom door looking way more exhausted compared to other mornings. But then Weiss recalled that hangovers were a thing, and felt bad for kicking the door shut so loudly.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Ruby." Weiss set down the tray of food on the desk in the corner of the room.

"It's fine." Ruby slowly made her way to Weiss' bed, becoming glad she didn't have to make the climb full of effort into her own.

Weiss was at Ruby's side as soon as the younger girl was in the bed. She handed Ruby a glass of water and a painkiller pill which the latter took as soon as she saw it. Weiss watched as Ruby gulped down the water, along with the pill, in just a few seconds, making it obvious how parched she really was. Weiss smiled softly. Even though Ruby had a hangover, she was better now. 

“I feel like I haven’t eaten in ten years.” Ruby moaned as Weiss took the now empty glass off of her. Weiss jumped up from the bed to grab the tray of apple slices and toast and quickly brought it over to Ruby.

“I got this for you from breakfast. I didn’t want to wake you up.” Weiss placed the tray on Ruby’s lap quietly so it didn’t clink or make a painful noise for her.

Even with the starving stomach and rattling skull, Ruby smiled cheesily at the ex-heiress. “Gee, thanks, Weiss.”

Weiss cringed at the familiar saying. Ruby had said the same thing to Weiss the night prior after Weiss had apologised for screaming at the drunk girl. Weiss shook her head slightly as she recalled all of the events of last night. She needed to talk about it with Ruby; but she’d at least wait for the girl to finish her breakfast. 

So once Ruby finished her pieces of toast and her apple slices, Weiss took the tray off her and back over to the desk. She then proceeded to sit back down on the side of her own bed, which Ruby was now snuggled into under the sheets. 

“Look, Ruby,” Weiss looked into Ruby’s sparkling silver eyes, “We need to talk about what happened last night.”

Ruby furrowed her brow for a couple of seconds before making a small ‘o’ shape with her mouth and averting her gaze from Weiss. Ruby was finding it hard to recollect what had happened the night before, but now that Weiss had said that, Ruby had hazy memory flashes of Weiss being there, and the both of them yelling. 

“I don’t really remember much of what happened…” Ruby didn’t look Weiss in the eyes and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. 

“You don’t need to remember it, Ruby.” Weiss sighed. “You kept saying you liked being drunk, and that it made everything go away.”

Ruby bowed her head so that her hair fell and covered her face. She really didn’t expect anyone to find her last night, or to witness her drunk. Of all people, she didn’t want Weiss to see, to even know. 

“Ruby,” Weiss lifted her hand and turned Ruby’s head to face her own, leaving Ruby to go a bit pink in the cheeks, “Just- What’s wrong? What happened, Ruby? Why did you- Why did you turn to alcohol of all things? Why didn’t you just ask for help?”

Weiss paused and looked down, swallowing hard to get rid of the familiar feeling of the lump in her throat. Ruby watched Weiss regain her composure for a couple of seconds before returning her gaze to the scythe-wielder. 

“You know how I feel about drinking your problems away.” Weiss watched Ruby’s face turn to an expression of guilt, but also slight insecureness.

“It wasn’t just that…” Ruby mumbled. 

“Then what was it, Ruby?” Weiss huffed, slightly exaggerated. She was honestly finding it hard to keep her cool with the girl, but she had to remain patient in order to get to the roots of Ruby’s issues in the situation at hand. 

Ruby didn’t answer. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she just didn’t know how. What was she supposed to say? That she was upset about Penny? Upset about everything? Each answer Ruby thought of in her mind sounded like a weak excuse, a stupid reason that made no sense. Ruby felt like she was acting immature yesterday; she overreacted and didn’t deserve to even feel upset because her reasonings were stupid. 

Weiss noticed Ruby wincing, she could almost feel the guilt and regret Ruby looked like she was experiencing.

“What happened last night?” Weiss almost whispered. She moved closer to Ruby on the bed and placed her hand on top of Ruby’s leg, which she meant as a sign of comfort. 

“I-...” Ruby cleared her throat and looked into Weiss’ icy blue orbs. In a way, Weiss’ eyes kind of calmed her a bit. They provided Ruby with the smallest push she needed to finally talk to Weiss like she should have a while ago. 

“I was really... overwhelmed. Everything felt like it was suddenly, just, there.” Weiss squeezed her hand slightly on Ruby’s leg, causing Ruby to clear her throat again and continue, “I hated it and I was just stupid and drank to get rid of the crying and the sore feeling and...  _ everything _ .”

Ruby placed her own hand on where Weiss’ was, leaving Weiss to blush slightly as the younger girl looked her in the eyes. “Weiss, I’m so sorry about last night. It won’t happen again”

Weiss felt like a giant weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. Although Weiss didn’t feel like she had helped much, she still couldn’t help but let a tear roll down her cheek. Ruby had recognised her mistake, she would be okay now, and that made Weiss feel the most relieved she had in a long time.

“Besides, I’ve got you, Weiss. Why would I do that again when I can talk to you? I’m sorry.” Ruby shrugged, slightly embarrassed. But Weiss just shook her head and smiled, squeezing Ruby’s hand tightly in her own. 

“It’s okay now. I’m going to be here for you whenever you need, I promise.” The two huntresses spent a minute gazing into each other eyes, letting the words each other had spoken seep in. Ruby felt utterly stupid for not coming to her partner the night before, and Weiss felt as though she should’ve reached out to Ruby sooner. But both felt grateful to have each other, nonetheless. 

Weiss was the first to break eye contact as she felt her cheeks burn a slight bit. She pulled her hand away from Ruby’s and smiled awkwardly as she stood up by the bed side. 

“I’ll go and-”

“No, don’t.” 

Weiss had her mouth open slightly, still about to continue her sentence which Ruby had interrupted. When Weiss didn’t say anything, Ruby spoke again. “Stay here, please.”

Weiss stared at the younger huntress for just a moment before climbing back into the bed. When Ruby still didn’t look satisfied, Weiss rolled her eyes playfully and climbed under the bed sheets with her.

“Happy now?” Weiss asked, her eyebrow raised coyly. Ruby nodded, a smirk on her face, “Yep.”

Weiss laid her head down on the pillow and sighed. She wouldn’t admit it to Ruby, but she loved the idea of comforting her and staying with her. Weiss was usually the cold one, seen as rude or obnoxious, but that wasn’t who she was anymore. That was Weiss  _ Schnee _ . But this? Weiss lying next to her friend- lying next to her best friend in a comforting manner? That was  _ Weiss  _ Schnee. 

Weiss was interrupted from her thoughts when she felt something warm press against her cheek. It took a second or two before Weiss realised Ruby had just kissed her on the cheek. Weiss turned her head to the left and faced Ruby. The two girls were both sporting slightly red cheeks, now.

“Thank you. For everything.”

Ruby smiled sincerely at the ex-heiress, her cheeks still a light shade of pink. And Weiss couldn’t help but smile back.

Everything was okay. 


End file.
